On June 14, 2021 a
Motion-Secondary
was filed
involving a dispute between
Doe John,
and
Billington Rachel,
for Defamation (slander/libel) (General Jurisdiction)
in the District Court of Los Angeles County.
Preview
Electronically FILED by Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles on 09/15/2021 11:52 AM Sherri R. Carter, Executive Officer/Clerk of Court, by J. Lara,Deputy Clerk
1 Eugene Volokh, Bar # 194464
2 UCLA First Amendment Clinic, UCLA School of Law
3 385 Charles E. Young Dr. E
4 Los Angeles, CA 90095
5 (310) 206-3926, fax (310) 206-7010
6 volokh@law.ucla.edu
7 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
8 FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STANLEY MOSK COURTHOUSE
JOHN DOE, an individual, Case No.: 21STCV22207
[Hon. Holly H. Fujie, Dept. 56]
Plaintiff,
FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION’S
v. OPPOSITION TO AMENDED MOTION TO
SEAL TRUE NAME OF DEFENDANT
RACHEL BILLINGTON, an individual;
and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, Date: September 2, 2021
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Defendants. Dept.: 56
9
10 Introduction
11 Plaintiff named the defendant over a dozen times in his July 7, 2021 First Amended Complaint
12 for Defamation. Plaintiff also used a pseudonym for his own name without filing the necessary
13 application; because of that, defendant was free to repeatedly include plaintiff’s name in the papers
14 filed with her Special Motion to Strike (the anti-SLAPP motion) as well as with her Demurrer—
15 and did indeed include plaintiff’s name, as well as her own. Yet now plaintiff moves to retroac-
16 tively seal this Court’s records by redacting the defendant’s true name.
17 Libel lawsuits are routinely litigated openly, with both parties publicly identified; this includes
18 libel lawsuits based on allegations of sexual misconduct. (See, e.g., Dickinson v. Cosby (2019) 37
19 Cal.App.5th 1138; Comstock v. Aber (2012) 212 Cal.App.4th 931; Olaes v. Nationwide Mut. Ins.
20 Co. (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 1501; Schwern v. Plunkett (9th Cir. 2017) 845 F.3d 1241; Blatt v.
OPPOSITION TO AMENDED MOTION TO SEAL
1
Document Filed Date
September 15, 2021
Case Filing Date
June 14, 2021
Category
Defamation (slander/libel) (General Jurisdiction)
Status
Court-Ordered Dismissal - Other (Other) 03/14/2022
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Electronically FILED by Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles on 09/15/2021 11:52 AM Sherri R. Carter, Executive Officer/Clerk of Court, by J. Lara,Deputy Clerk 1 Eugene Volokh, Bar # 194464 2 UCLA First Amendment Clinic, UCLA School of Law 3 385 Charles E. Young Dr. E 4 Los Angeles, CA 90095 5 (310) 206-3926, fax (310) 206-7010 6 volokh@law.ucla.edu 7 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 8 FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STANLEY MOSK COURTHOUSE JOHN DOE, an individual, Case No.: 21STCV22207 [Hon. Holly H. Fujie, Dept. 56] Plaintiff, FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION’S v. OPPOSITION TO AMENDED MOTION TO SEAL TRUE NAME OF DEFENDANT RACHEL BILLINGTON, an individual; and DOES 1 through 100, inclusive, Date: September 2, 2021 Time: 8:30 a.m. Defendants. Dept.: 56 9 10 Introduction 11 Plaintiff named the defendant over a dozen times in his July 7, 2021 First Amended Complaint 12 for Defamation. Plaintiff also used a pseudonym for his own name without filing the necessary 13 application; because of that, defendant was free to repeatedly include plaintiff’s name in the papers 14 filed with her Special Motion to Strike (the anti-SLAPP motion) as well as with her Demurrer— 15 and did indeed include plaintiff’s name, as well as her own. Yet now plaintiff moves to retroac- 16 tively seal this Court’s records by redacting the defendant’s true name. 17 Libel lawsuits are routinely litigated openly, with both parties publicly identified; this includes 18 libel lawsuits based on allegations of sexual misconduct. (See, e.g., Dickinson v. Cosby (2019) 37 19 Cal.App.5th 1138; Comstock v. Aber (2012) 212 Cal.App.4th 931; Olaes v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. 20 Co. (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 1501; Schwern v. Plunkett (9th Cir. 2017) 845 F.3d 1241; Blatt v. OPPOSITION TO AMENDED MOTION TO SEAL 1